In his February 13, 1818 letter to Weekly Register editor, Hezekiah Niles, John Adams wrote that the American Revolution “was in the minds and hearts of the people…This radical change in the principles, opinions, sentiments, and affections of the people, was the real American Revolution.” The Revolution is an event that many Americans–then and now– identify with a few great men and a few key events. However, a careful reading of Adams’s words reveals an opportunity for US History teachers to offer a new perspective on the Revolution – the people’s perspective. Teaching the Revolution through an examination of the people’s “minds and hearts” and the people’s changing “principles, opinions, sentiments, and affections” does not diminish the accomplishments of the well known and prominent. Instead, it provides our students with a richer picture of the war that created the United States.

When studying the American Revolution, it is important for students to understand that the colonists’ declaration of independence was not the work of a few. Often, students hold the misconception that the Revolution occurred spontaneously with a few angry colonists – led by Samuel Adams and John Hancock – throwing tea into the Boston Harbor. Rather, the activities, meetings and conversations conducted in taverns throughout the colonies were critical to the making of the Revolution. Text and e-mail messaging and twenty-four-hour news networks did not exist. News only traveled as quickly as a newspaper could be printed or as a person with news could travel. Thus, meetings and conversations in taverns were vital in uniting people and spreading the message of the American Revolution. As Mark Edward Lender and James Kirby Martin write in Drinking in America, “The taverns were a vital early American institution – an institution highly regarded by most colonials and attended as faithfully as many churches.” As a motivator for student learning and as a way for students to analyze primary source material, a teacher could begin with the image of the famous Old Tun Tavern – the birthplace of the U.S. Marine Corp. By using similar images or tavern broadsides, the student can become historically empathetic to the people and places where the Revolution really began.

While men talked politics and stirred emotions of rebellion in taverns, the ideas to boycott and engage in resistance to British authority could not have become reality without the support and actions of the women in colonial America. Incorporating documents like A Society of Patriotic Ladies, at Edenton in North Carolina, the famous 1775 London newspaper cartoon, into our classrooms allows students to see not only what vital roles women played, but how they were ridiculed for their actions. Teaching about women’s roles on and off the battlefield extends far beyond the gratuitous nod often given to the likes of Betsy Ross and “Molly Pitcher.” From boycotting British goods to acting as spies and soldiers (sometimes dressed as men), women were not immune to the changing sentiments and opinions. Women did not bury these feelings – they acted on them. In Revolutionary Mothers, by Carol Berkin, numerous examples of the social, political, and military roles that women played can be easily incorporated into the traditional classroom narrative. The drama of America’s War for Independence is much richer and not as trite when more actors are brought to the stage.

In that drama, students are often bombarded with stories of George Washington’s famous crossing of the Delaware or the victory at Yorktown. We have students read letters to the Continental Congress where Washington pleads for supplies and money. However, to truly appreciate the hard earned victories and the hardships faced by the Continental Army, students need to realize it was the militias and volunteers who won these battles and faced these hardships. One of the best accounts of a Revolutionary War soldier’s experience is Joseph Plumb Martin’s memoir. Written years after the war, Martin recounts his experiences as one of the people who changed opinions, sentiments, and affections when he took up arms against the British. The opening pages of his memoir recount his vague memory of the Stamp Act’s repeal and his more vivid memory of why he became a soldier at such a young age. Because Martin was just a common colonial teenager when he joined the fight, his memoir allows our students to see his change of heart and his war experience through the eyes of someone their age. His presence at nearly every major Revolutionary War event allows teachers to present the war from an average soldier’s perspective.

While there is nothing wrong with romanticizing the American Revolution by focusing on the great, heroic individuals whose statues and images appear everywhere, our students need to recognize that our history does not belong solely to the elite. In his 1818 letter, John Adams did not single out a few heroic, wealthy, or prominent individuals. He made note that the real Revolution was in the hearts and minds of the people. Providing additional perspectives on the war does not diminish nor trivialize the accomplishments of the well known. Rather, it stresses the importance of history by allowing students to see their own faces in the past. Incorporating the perspectives of the “people” allows students and teachers to create a richer historical timeline.

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Imagine for a moment that you are an undergraduate training to become a K-12 Social studies/history teacher. Your methods professor has required you to develop a lesson plan(s) that examines the key events of the American Revolution with women at the nexus. Could it be done? Could the Stamp Act and other British imperial policies, as well as the war’s battles be told through the eyes of colonial women—Loyalist and patriot—and still enable students to understand this momentous event? Thankfully, the answer is yes. The events that culminated in the birth of the American Republic can easily be told through the efforts of a variety of colonial women. The advent of the Internet and other traditional resources enable classroom teachers to examine this turning point in American History with women serving as the examples for each of the major areas of study that define traditional units on the Revolution.

Unfortunately, integrating women in the telling of the nation’s birth is rare. The majority of textbooks continue to separate women out from the general narrative and isolate their efforts during the struggle for independence. In other instances, the presence of women is left to the historically inaccurate stereotypes of Molly Pitcher and Betsy Ross—composite and apocryphal tales, respectively. Despite these trends it is still quite easy to revisit instructional decisions so that women can be placed into the examination of the Revolution. Two visual documents, and numerous supplementary text sources, illuminate the ease in which the traditional signposts of the revolution can be examined with women as the example.

The first source is the image titled “A Society of Patriotic Ladies at Edenton North Carolina.” Found at any of the following sites, this satirical British take on the emerging colonial resistance is an intriguing way to draw students into the period between 1763 and 1776, when colonial and British relations were altered from the period of salutary neglect to one of imperial assertion.

http://www.learnnc.org/lp/editions/nchist-revolution/4305

http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/british/brit-2.html

http://historymatters.gmu.edu/d/6803/

http://chnm.gmu.edu/exploring/18thcentury/patrioticwomen/index.php

http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/awhhtml/aw05e/d12.html

Asking students to analyze the image and draw attention to elements that might help them decode the artists’ intent. Following their initial examination, students can then examine a number of the petitions, poems, women’s societies minutes and constitutions, homespun circles, and boycotts that represent the roles women played in protesting and resisting British efforts to impose control over their North American colonies. Class discussion of these sources will enable students to place the “Patriotic Ladies of Edenton” image into its historical context and generate discussion about the multiple manners in which women were central to the march to American independence. With just a few easily found historical sources the traditional lesson on American resistance to colonial power is altered so that students can understand the important role women played in one of the first movements toward the creation of the United States.

Later in the fight for independence is another opportunity to incorporate women into an examination of the time period. Having students investigate the historical question regarding the existence of Molly Pitcher requires students to examine a number of historical sources. The investigation can begin with one of a number of sources purporting to show Molly Pitcher aiding in the fight against the British.

http://www.beavton.k12.or.us/jacob_wismer/leahy/revolution/molly_pitcher.htm

http://explorepahistory.com/displayimage.php?imgId=654

http://www.earlyamerica.com/earlyamerica/notable/pitcherm/

http://explorepahistory.com/displayimage.php?imgId=730

http://www.sonofthesouth.net/revolutionary-war/patriots/molly-pitcher.htm

http://www.gutenberg.org/files/20297/20297-h/20297-h.htm

http://www.archives.gov/research/american-revolution/pictures/

The diaries, petitions for pensions, and letters by or about Sarah Osborn, Margaret Corbin, Deborah Gannett, and Mary Ludwig Hays McCauley, enables students to examine the fighting of the war through the eyes of three women who served in the colonial army and aids students’ in their investigation of the authenticity of the off-referenced historical figure of Molly Pitcher. By examining the roles played by women in the fight for independence, students will be able to develop an understanding of how and why the myth of a singular ‘Molly Pitcher’ was created and how it represents a composite tale of many stirring and interesting women that aided the colonial effort for freedom.

So breathe deeply—the challenge set out by your methods professor without doubt can be met. The American Revolution can easily be told with the significant roles played by colonial women at the forefront of the story. Go search, the sources are there and they are ripe with interesting questions for students to explore in the classroom.

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The nation once again awakens to history’s continuing relevance with comparisons between the current economic crisis and the Great Depression. As we attempt to address the questions and concerns of our students, certainly our lesson plans on the Great Depression take on new relevance—and offer new teaching opportunities.

Until recently, the Great Depression has been a difficult topic to teach and a difficult topic for students to understand. The challenging economic and political concepts often blurred their appreciation of the effect the Depression had on the generations of the 1930s. Sadly, the current economic climate may provide us a rare teachable moment. When our students examine the Great Depression through the words of elected officials, the work of Depression Era photographers, and through the concerns of regular citizens, especially children, the significance of the past to their own lives will become clearer.

What primary sources will be most effective in demonstrating the impact of the Great Depression? Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s inaugural address is an excellent way to introduce the new president’s vision for a nation in crisis. As teachers, we are not strangers to FDR’s reassurance that we had “nothing to fear, but fear itself.” Students may be familiar with these words too, but, having students examine the speech beyond that famous line proves far more valuable: students will search for evidence of FDR’s vision for recovery. Asking students to find specific evidence of his plans for agriculture, for job creation, and for preventing foreclosures can be a starting point for a later evaluation of his New Deal policies. In addition, students can identify FDR’s view of the root causes of the Depression. Students can also examine FDR’s optimism, an optimism based on traditional American values and ideals.

Reading an inaugural allows students to understand both the visionary and analytical elements of a politician’s speech, but photographs can help students visualize the effects of government policies and the reality of the human condition in a crisis. There are few Depression Era photographs more famous than Dorothea Lange’s Migrant Mother. This photograph can instantly put a human face on the Depression for students. Asking students to speculate on what Lange was thinking when taking the photo and what the mother’s thoughts were as she was being photographed can spark interesting classroom discussion. However, if students are asked to examine other photographers’ work, Lange’s other photos taken during and after the Depression, and her background and purpose as a Relocation Administration photographer, these students become historians, actively assessing the role of a paid photographer. They will also have a better understanding of the importance of the visual documentation of history.

Speeches and photographs provide students with two very distinct perspectives – one from the history makers and one from history’s recorders. Rarely do students examine the past through the voices of those directly affected and those closest to their ages. Judiciously selecting children’s letters from Dear Mrs. Roosevelt: Letters from Children of the Great Depression (edited by Robert Cohen) can provide our students the opportunity to discover the way young Americans experienced a very frightening time. In addition, supplementing visuals with an individual’s voice can enrich the classroom experience. Students could be asked to find letters that provide textual support for their analysis of Depression Era photos. Using these letters allow students today to develop an empathy for a population of Americans whose hardships are usually only brought to them through statistics and data.

Studying the Great Depression through these three lenses—inaugural addresses, visual depictions, and letters written by ordinary young people—can assist modern-day students in understanding the past, making connections with the present, and recognizing the importance of their history classroom.

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Chronological thinking is a fundamental building block for understanding the past. From the earliest years of a students’ education they create and examine timelines that display the chronology of their lives or important historical events from an already-processed string of dates and facts often drawn from textbooks. Students are asked to use the timelines to determine causal relationships between events, or to see patterns among events along the time continuum. What students rarely do, and the ill-fated Bonus Army of 1932 provides a wonderful occasion to do so, is develop a chronology using the same primary sources employed by historians. In doing so, students move beyond the simple reflection of temporal order generated by the analysis of a timeline, to a more critical determination of how the events along the line were determined to have a relationship with one another. By challenging students to create a chronology, they gain insight into how historians have determined what happened in the past and practice the types of thinking skills relevant to the twenty-first century.

During the depths of the depression, a collection of World War I veterans led by former soldier and unemployed cannery worker Walter W. Waters demanded the bonus promised them as part of their military service to be paid early. Initially scheduled to become available in 1945, the bonus money was sought by veterans suffering from the deepening economic depression. Hoping to support the legislative efforts of Texas Democrat Wright Patman, who proposed the Serviceman’s Readjustment Act calling for immediate payment of the bonus, veterans descended on the Capitol. Traveling to Washington by foot, auto, and rail, the veterans embodied the right to petition one’s government for redress of grievances, and the mounting frustrations of many Americans with the now three-year-old economic downturn. Arriving in mid-spring of 1932, the marchers intended to protest peacefully. Camp Marks, the Hooverville established by the marchers, became the site of a makeshift community complete with a library, newspaper, nightly entertainment, and the enforcement of order amongst its residents. Radical talk, and especially support for communism, was shouted down by the veterans. Daily trips to the Capitol Hill to express support for early payment of their bonus were the major focus of the marcher’s day-to-day efforts in the Washington. Unfortunately, the measure was defeated on June 17, 1932, the United States Senate voted down the Patman Bill.

By late June of 1932, the majority of the marchers had departed for home. Still, 10,000-15,000 veterans and other protesters, including some members of the Communist Party not formally associated with the marchers, remained in Washington. On June 28th, needing the condemned federal buildings that housed many of the marchers, Police began to forcibly remove the marchers. The United States military, led by General Douglas MacArthur, and Majors Dwight Eisenhower and George S. Patton, took over from the efforts from the police department and forcibly removed the remaining marchers. Crossing the Anacostia Bridge into Camp Marks, the troops–armed with machine guns, tanks, and the other accoutrements of war, the troops destroyed the hovels of the Hooverville, and dispatched the remaining protesters. The Bonus March ended with flames rather than celebration of the Constitution’s protections of speech, assembly, and petition.

How can such a seemingly straightforward event be fertile ground for developing students’ critical abilities to think chronologically? To do so requires an historical question that provokes students to need to create a chronology of the event in order to generate a reasoned historical response to the question. In this case, asking students to determine why the Bonus Marchers were forcibly removed from the nation’s capitol and to determine who bears responsibility for their removal structures the students’ investigation. Providing students with a variety of documents allows them to sift through the evidence trail and develop an interpretive argument regarding the two questions posed. These documents include news magazine articles from The Nation and Harpers Weekly, memoirs from General Douglas MacArthur, Major Dwight Eisenhower, General George Van Horn Mosley, and a press release from President Herbert Hoover. Essential to the development of a useful chronology is how students deal with the dates of sources versus the information contained within. The President’s press release, issued the day after the removal, declares that the marchers were removed on his order because of “revolution in the air.” Reading the memoirs of thirty years after the march discuss MacArthur’s blatant disregard for presidential orders becomes patently obvious. If students build the chronology of the events surrounding the removal of the Bonus Marchers around the dates of the documents, then the determination of why the marchers were removed and who bears responsibility will be dramatically different then if they use the information contained in the documents to construct the chronology. Crucial to this difference is the fact that the material presented in the MacArthur, Eisenhower, and Van Horn Mosley memoirs differs from the press release by President Herbert Hoover on the day after the removal of the veteran marchers. Many students will create the chronology based solely on the dates of the sources instead of comparing the contentions of the sources and why they were produced. By creating a chronology of events, and dealing with the contradictions presented by the various sources, students can critically attack the lessons’ focus questions: Why were the Bonus Marchers removed and who bears responsibility for this decision?

By requiring students to think like historians, through the posing of questions, analysis of resources, and teaching skills such as sourcing, contextualizing, chronological thinking, historical significance, causality, and others, students see history as less of a march from “one damn thing” to another, and more the application of evidence to make arguments about past events, people, and ideas. The creation of a timeline documenting the expulsion of the Bonus Army takes chronological thinking from a static depiction of time-event relationships, and converts it into the construction of an interpretation of the past.

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By Philip Nicolosi

There is certainly no shortage of information or resources on our sixteenth president, Abraham Lincoln, but, as a result, teachers often have trouble selecting which resources they wish to use in the classroom. Time and curricular restraints only exacerbates the problem.  While we find ourselves with this dilemma, teachers certainly agree that there are at least two core Lincoln documents that must be taught – The Gettysburg Address and Lincoln’s Second Inaugural Address. 

The classroom approach to these documents varies greatly. In some cases, teachers ask students to analyze them as historians might; in others, they use them to reinforce previously taught concepts and content. Sometimes teachers have students read them silently or aloud and then answer specific content questions about them. Other teachers have students memorize Lincoln’s eloquent words or make modern language translations.  No one knows our students better than we do and no one particular method of teaching these documents is superior to another. Our goal remains the same:  to help our students appreciate not only the importance of these speeches in American history, but to understand what Lincoln was saying and why he was saying it. We can achieve this by making these documents centerpieces in any US history course, rather than teaching them in isolation from the larger sweep of American history. They are too important to suffer the fate of many other documents used in the classroom whose words and concepts are flushed from students’ memories after the test. 

Introducing a document like the Gettysburg Address at the beginning of a US History course will undoubtedly arouse student curiosity: why are we studying this Civil War speech when the topic is the settlement of Jamestown or the American Revolution?  The answer lies in a theme historians often stress:  freedom is an evolving concept, changing shape throughout our history.  Asking students why Lincoln used the phrase “a new birth of freedom” could spark a conversation about how each generation defined that term and how we, in the modern era, are still struggling with its meaning.  What can follow is a discussion of  how our Founders defined liberty “four score and seven years” before Lincoln’s era;  how Jefferson’s claim in the Declaration of Independence “that all men are created equal” took on a drastically new meaning that emerges in Lincoln’s Address; and what equality means in our world today. 

Lincoln’s Second Inaugural offers another important opportunity. It allows us to make the critical point that historical events are not inevitable and outcomes are never certain. Students of history need to realize that hindsight is certainly in our favor. After the war, Lincoln’s intention was to pursue a policy of “malice towards none” and “charity for all.”  The speech can also be used to provide students with some insight into Lincoln’s views on slavery and how he perceived it as a cause of the war and as a reason for divine punishment.  From this rather brief address, students can gain an appreciation of the reelection challenge Lincoln faced in 1864 while the end of the war remained elusive. This lesson – that history must be read forward rather than studied in hindsight – will be valuable when the class looks at other historical decisions and their unexpected consequences.

Lincoln’s words hold a central place in our nation’s history. Using these two documents throughout the year in our classrooms not only teaches students about Lincoln, but also why history proved him wrong when he said the “world will little note, nor long remember” his words and deeds.

Image: Broadside of the Lincoln’s Second Inaugural Address (The Gilder Lehrman Collection, GLC06044)

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 By Bruce Lesh

Abraham Lincoln’s speeches and letters have been written about and analyzed more than those of any other politician in American History.  His evolution from obscure frontier Whig to Civil War president is also the evolution of the mind of a transformational leader. Words, phrases, and delivery of Lincoln’s numerous public and private musings have been analyzed under the microscope of historians. An intensive examination of Lincoln’s words in the classroom presents several challenges, especially because of their length and volume. In the world of the nineteenth century, a public presentation could go on for hours. Thus what audiences in Lincoln’s day would find eloquent, today’s students, members of the sound byte generation, are certain to see as overkill—as they might the sheer volume of documents Lincoln produced over his career.

The classroom teacher can, however, overcome these obstacles. Using representative segments of Lincoln’s words from a variety of documents or dividing readings up into sections empowers the classroom teacher to both incorporate a wide variety of Lincoln’s words and to reduce student’s anxiety about utilizing long documents. Lincoln’s October 16, 1854 speech in Peoria, Illinois illustrates these challenges and opportunities.At over 17,000 words the Peoria speech is beyond the scope of the time, curricular demands, and attention spans of most high school students.  Nevertheless, the document merits consideration for classroom use. To make effective use of the speech teachers should excerpt passages that provide insight into Lincoln’s thoughts on the major issues of the day, such as the Missouri Compromise, the Kansas-Nebraska Act, Popular Sovereignty, union, and slavery.

Divided effectively, the speech can also serve as a point of comparison for students when they encounter Lincoln’s reaction to John Brown’s raid, the Dred Scott decision, and his decisions between the election of 1860 and the issuing of the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863.The speech can also be used to introduce the events of the 1850s, helping students to understand its context. Lincoln gave the speech immediately following congressional passage of the Kansas-Nebraska act, which negated the Missouri Compromise. Determined to defend the Missouri Compromise and highlight the threat posed to civil peace for thirty years, Lincoln foreshadows many of the arguments made four years later in the more famous Lincoln-Douglas debates of 1858. Within the speech students can find the core arguments that define Lincoln’s views as congressional candidate, Republican nominee for president, and Civil War commander-in-chief. His opposition to the extension of slavery, his moral rejection of the institution of slavery, his reflection of the racial views of the time period, and his more Whiggish than abolitionist view of how to resolve the conundrum of slavery are all apparent in the speech.

Image: Photograph of Abraham Lincoln, taken in 1859. (The Gilder Lehrman Collection, GLC03950)

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1912: Wilson, Roosevelt, Taft and Debs- The Election that Changed the Country, by James Chace (Simon and Schuster, 2005)

Presidential elections can usher in a transfer of power from one political party to another, signal the ascendency of issues onto or off the national agenda, or serve to reorder electoral coalitions between parties. In many classrooms, presidential administrations and the elections that place the victors in power structure our courses. Although the Voluntary National History Standards do not dedicate any content standards to presidential elections, many local curricula place emphasis on the elections of 1800, 1824, 1860, 1876, 1896, 1912, 1932, 1968, and 1980.  In 1912: Wilson, Roosevelt, Taft & Debs—The Election that Changed the Country, James Chance presents a popular account of the four-way contest for president that year and makes an argument for its inclusion into the American survey.

The book weaves together the biographical background of each candidate with the broader social, political, and economic changes defining the American experience between 1880 and 1912. Of particular interest to Chance, and an important facet of the 1912 election, was the deteriorating relationship between former President Theodore Roosevelt and President William Howard Taft. Given the reins to an executive office focused on progressive reforms, Taft–in the eyes of both Roosevelt and many progressive Republicans–failed to uphold the pace, intensity, and effectiveness of the path blazed by Roosevelt. The firing of Roosevelt’s friend and conservation mentor, Gifford Pinchot, and Taft’s inability to effectively manage the conservative Republicans in Congress frustrated Roosevelt, and forced him back into the arena of presidential politics.

The intensity of party politics, often lost on today’s students, is dramatically depicted. The machinations behind closed doors, a contested and brokered convention, and the role of money and influence provide readers with a solid examination of how party politics once exerted greater influence on the selection of the chief executive. The rise of Roosevelt’s third party insurgency is also effectively conveyed. The most engaging portions of the book are those that weave the story of Eugene Debs into both the full narrative of the time period and the election.  Labor and the nascent Socialist movement in the United States are often given short shrift in most survey courses. Chance effectively narrates Debs biography and his role in the Pullman Strike. Debs is painted in generally sympathetic terms and as an equal participant in the four-way contest that was the 1912 presidential election. Chance demonstrates why labor unionism, socialism, and communism were important political factors in late-nineteenth and early twentieth century politics. The book’s greatest weakness is in the title’s declaration that the results of the 1912 election “changed America.” Chance leaves no room for the impact of the election on progressivism, socialism, or party coalitions, and disappoints when it comes to positing the 1912 elections as a transformative presidential contest.

The book’s classroom utility depends on how teachers structure their course or a district structures its curriculum. If the election of 1912 is reflected in a course or curricular objective then the book could be useful in helping to determine the issues of impacts of the election. If the election is subsumed into a broader examination of the Progressive Movement, as most curricula tend to do, then the books narrow focus may occupy too much time to merit its inclusion as a classroom tool. The book would serve as a useful tool for teachers of government or civics.  The descriptions of the conventions, Republican, Democratic, Socialist, and Progressive, could serve as useful discussion of the impact of Progressive reforms on political party power and influence both over the electorate at large and presidential politics specifically. Well written and populated by interesting personalities, James Chance’s 1912: Wilson, Roosevelt, Taft & Debs—The Election that Changed America is useful reading for teachers and students American History. 

Theodore Roosevelt: The Rough Riders/An Autobiography, by Theodore Roosevelt (Library of America, 2004)

Serving many masters, autobiography is a tricky genre of literature.  Often first drafts of history, autobiographies work to restructure the memory of events, ideas, personalities, and relationships. The trick is to ensure that students understand that this historical source presents a window not only into the life of its author but into the time period in which it was written. This window, opened by the author, makes autobiographies–like diaries and memoirs–interesting historical sources to use in the classroom.

In An Autobiography, President Theodore Roosevelt, a transformative figure in American History and in the history of the presidency, tells the story of his rise to the highest political office in the United States.  After two chapters detailing Roosevelt’s pre-political career, the book takes off as Roosevelt emerges from Harvard and enters into New York politics.  From the New York state legislature, to head of the federal Civil Service Commission, New York City Police Commissioner, Governor of New York, vice president, and finally the twenty-sixth president of the United States, Roosevelt’s political career is presented in a celebratory manner characteristic of most political biographies. Roosevelt’s role as New York City Police Chief and his relationship with progressive reformers such as Jacob Riis provides a distinctive view of the transformative power of progressivism and the challenges presented by rapid urbanization, industrialization, and immigration. Another unique perspective discussed is Roosevelt’s promotion of conservationism.  His relationship with Gifford Pinchot, named by Roosevelt as the first head of the United States Forest Service, exemplified Roosevelt’s willingness to promote ideas counter to turn of the twentieth century Republican political orthodoxy, and place government as a strong force in limiting the excesses of industrialization.

Foreign policy also forms a strand within the narrative of Roosevelt’s political career. His roles as Secretary of the Navy and as a commander in the Spanish American War provide great insight into the “Splendid Little War” that clearly announced the emergence of the United States as a World power. Serving as Secretary of the Navy in 1897, Roosevelt’s narrative paints the war as necessary to deal with the “archaic principles” by which Spain governed its colonial possession, Cuba. Roosevelt argues that “Our own direct interests were great, because of the Cuban tobacco and sugar, and especially because of Cuba’s relation to the projected Isthmian Canal.” What is clearly communicated by Roosevelt is how much this war was an overt expression of American nationalism.  “It was our duty, even more from the standpoint of National honor than from the standpoint of National interest, to stop the devastation and destruction [in Cuba].”  Roosevelt’s telling of the march to war and its fighting are punctuated with terms such as the “mollycoddle” voters that left the nation in a condition of military unpreparedness, to the “archaic” governing techniques of the Spanish, and the “honor” in the choice to go to war.  The powerful nature of Roosevelt’s semantic choices enables the reader to sense the power of the man’s personality and the strength of his convictions (if not the concrete chain of events that lead to the war itself). Later discussions of “Big Stick” diplomacy and particularly its application in Panama make for good reading and fertile ground for the classroom.

There are numerous instructional opportunities for Roosevelt’s autobiography. Although the length of the book would it make it difficult to assign, numerous shorter segments could be easily adapted for classroom use. Roosevelt’s narrative on the Panama Canal, the 1906 Anthracite Coal Strike, the emergence of the conservationism, the attacking of industrial trusts, and other issues that defined his political rise and service as president, are ripe for classroom investigation. Comparing Roosevelt’s telling of these events to other historical sources facilitates student engagement with questions of how an autobiography must be measured against multiple perspectives in order to fully flesh out a more well-rounded telling of the story.  Political cartoons, newspaper articles, biographies, and other historical sources can be used as support and/or counterpoints to the versions of the events discussed in Roosevelt’s autobiography.  Careful selection of elements of the book can provide students a window not only into one of the more colorful and influential presidents in American history but also into the challenges provided in using autobiographies as historical sources. 

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TR: The Last Romantic, by H.W. Brands (Basic Books, 1998) 

After trudging through a parade of rather mundane post-Reconstruction presidents, it is quite refreshing to begin teaching students about the Rough Riding, trust-busting president on Mount Rushmore, Theodore Roosevelt.  While time constraints and curriculum restrictions often prohibit us from delving more deeply into the life and times of Theodore Roosevelt, H.W. Brands’ biography, T.R.: The Last Romantic, is an excellent backgrounder for the classroom teacher, masterfully placing Roosevelt’s well-known public actions in their historical context. 

The first part of Brands’ biography explores the many troubles and relationships Roosevelt had as a young child.  From overcoming numerous childhood ailments to his time spent rowing and hiking, Roosevelt’s early love of physical exercise and the outdoors can be seen in his policies as President.  Reading the chapter about the influence Roosevelt’s father’s had on young Theodore brilliantly demonstrates to students the role parents and upbringing may have on a person throughout a lifetime. Brands frequently revisits this influence throughout the book especially when examining the estranged relationship Roosevelt had with his daughter, Alice. Without being a Roosevelt apologist, Brands exposes both the personal strengths and weaknesses of his subject, in incredible detail.

Each chapter is conveniently divided into smaller, more manageable sections.  Teachers could judiciously select specific sections within each chapter for student reading or classroom examination, thus exploring the dual nature of Roosevelt. Because T.R: The Last Romantic is over 800 pages, there is little chance that even our heartiest and most die-hard history students will pick up Brands’ single volume work as a pleasure read. However, T.R. certainly has its place as a history classroom resource.  Aside from providing excellent content on our youngest president and “Teddy” bear namesake, T.R. offers a detailed explanation of why Roosevelt holds such an esteemed, yet controversial, place in American History.  Asking students why T.R. can be considered “great” is an excellent classroom endeavor. A quick perusal of the numerous sources Brands used will certainly leave teachers a wide selection of primary source ideas.

T.R. himself was no stranger to the pen. Because of the many letters and writings available, it is easy to see how daunting writing a single volume biography of Teddy Roosevelt could be.  Author of more than 100,000 letters and numerous books, Roosevelt’s proliferation should prompt the question of which sources could be used in writing a biography and which writings– his nationalistic tales of heroism or his private letters and musings – reveal the “real” Theodore Roosevelt.   Used in conjunction with The Library of America’s Theodore Roosevelt: Letters and Speeches, edited by Louis Achincloss, excerpts from Brands’ work could be used to teach students about the choices an historian makes when writing a biography.  For example, having students read and analyze the full text of a letter or speech from The Library of America’s collection and then examining how Brands excerpted and used that particular source could be an excellent research endeavor.   A discussion on whether the excepts were used effectively, whether another portion of the document could have better served the author’s purpose, or even if the students believe that the excerpt was taken out of context could really allow students to “do history” and be historians in the classroom.

The Library of America’s Theodore Roosevelt: Letters and Speeches itself could easily prompt numerous classroom activities and lessons. The Library of America volume contains nearly 375 letters and speeches written between 1881-1919. Certainly, an interesting classroom discussion could revolve around the choices the editor had to make in selecting documents.  Comparisons could be made as to the sources chosen for this collection and the ones Brands used in T.R. However, students should be aware that Theodore Roosevelt: Letters and Speeches focuses on a later and more public period for Roosevelt rather than his youth and early career.

For teachers looking for a great single volume work on President Theodore Roosevelt, H.W. Brands T.R.: The Last Romantic will certainly fit the bill. Brands’ research and excellent storytelling will provide teachers with the background knowledge on both Roosevelt and the time period in which he lived. While lengthy, the chapters are nicely subdivided making this text ready for excerpts or for homework readings. Theodore Roosevelt: Letters and Speeches can provide the full text of many of Roosevelt’s most famous works. Used in conjunction with Brands’ book, both works can provide a classroom teacher with numerous lesson plan ideas for teaching about Roosevelt, his time period, and about the work of an historian. 

 

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by Ralph Ellison

Reviewed by Phil Nicolosi

As history teachers, we encourage students to consult a wide variety of sources in order to discern fact from fiction and to examine differing historical perspectives. The astute history student might question whether literature is a valid historical source. One answer to such a question is that literature provides critical insight into history. A novel’s story line allows students to develop empathy for characters with different perspectives and material circumstances. Using fiction in history class can provide context and engage students on a personal level in a way that traditional textbooks cannot. Having students analyze a novel as they would a primary source document– Asking questions about the author, major events occurring around the time the novel was written, and the book’s intended audience will surely give students a new outlook on the natural relationship between history and literature and can be a useful classroom endeavor.

Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison is an excellent example of a piece of literature that can enrich a history classroom discussion. Published in the early 1950s, Ellison sets his story in the 1930s and takes his character on a journey from the South to Harlem.

Combining biting social commentary with keen political insight, Invisible Man underscores the importance of literature in history. Students can use their understanding of historical events, such as the Great Migration and the Great Depression, and the role of individuals in history to better understand the motivations of Ellison’s nameless narrator and other characters. Conversely, a close reading of the story enables students to personalize the historical significance of African Americans’ status in 1930s America. In an introduction written thirty years after the novel’s original publication, Ellison reveals how Invisible Man came to be – a history lesson in itself. What makes Ellison’s introduction extraordinarily valuable to students is that it is a personally reflective piece. It is a subjective rather than an objective analysis, with Ellison, who was a college student in the 1930s in the south and later moved to Harlem, revealing the autobiographical origins of his novel.

Ellison praises literature’s function as a game of “as if,” which he claims can be a voice for effecting social change. We frequently caution our students to avoid that game when dealing with historical documents. However, using fiction can give students a clearer understanding of our societal ideals (liberty, democracy, and equality) highlighted in historical documents like the Gettysburg Address or the Declaration of Independence.

Invisible Man deals directly and powerfully with the issues of race relations and civil rights and the student is introduced to a variety of black experiences from the central character’s response to the music of Louis Armstrong to his negotiation of the Jim Crow laws of the Southern states. Ellison gives due diligence to inter- and intra-racial tensions in his comparison between educated and uneducated whites and blacks, and in his account of conflicts in both rural and urban life in the 1930s. While Ellison acknowledges that the characters are fictitious, many of the people and events represent an amalgam of real personalities and events.

Invisible Man offers a number of interesting classroom activities. Students could read the speech by the Reverend Barbee and compare it to a speech by Booker T. Washington. Or, students could be asked to analyze the speeches and actions of Ras the Exhorter and compare them to the writing and actions of Marcus Garvey. Students could also be asked to read essays or speeches by W.E.B. Du Bois in order to gain a richer understanding of the various race-based philosophies prevalent at the time the novel takes place.

A comparison of the race riot at the end of the book and the actual Harlem riot of 1943 demonstrates the way that literature can dramatize and amplify real life events. As an extension activity, students could be asked to research the Newark or Watts riots and identifying causal factors similar to the riot created by Ellison’s imagination and the historical riot of 1943. Because Ellison’s portrayal of the “Brotherhood” is based upon the American Communist Party, students could be asked to examine how the Party recruited and used black intellectuals as natural allies to further their cause. Relating their findings to the character’s experience in the story or comparing sources on racial attitudes in the north and south could provide students an opportunity to judge if Ellison’s portrayals are exaggerated drama or hidden social commentary.

While literature cannot replace traditional sources used in history classrooms, it certainly can provide a window into the author’s mind and historical era. Novels can be analyzed the same way we analyze our documents. Just as many history teachers use Harriet Beecher Stowe’s Uncle Tom’s Cabin to teach the Antebellum Period, good literature can be used to accentuate any topic in our curriculum. Simply put, history dictates literature, and literature dictates history. Ellison’s work certainly highlights this point.

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Review of The Autobiography of Malcolm X, by Malcolm X and Alex Haley

Ragged Dick: Or, Street Life in New York with the Boot Blacks, by Horatio Alger

Reviewed by Bruce Lesh

Many characteristics describe adolescent students, but none as prominent as change. Physically, emotionally, and intellectually middle and high school students are constantly transforming. Although these transitions often present challenges for the classroom teacher, they also bestow a tremendous opportunity to connect students to one of the most dynamic forces in history: change. In many instances, literature—often seen as the exclusive purview of English teachers—can facilitate students’ investigation into a personality, time period, or idea and strengthen their understanding of the forces transforming the landscape of the past. Two books, one fiction, another non-fiction, allow students to investigate a time period in history through the lens of dynamic characters undergoing personal transitions, thus connecting the transforming teenager to the past.

Any of the more than 100 novels written by Horatio Alger provide insight into the power of change as an historical force. On such choice is Ragged Dick: Or, Street Life in New York with the Boot Blacks. Through the eyes of a young bootblack, students are quickly drawn into turn of the twentieth century industrial and urbanized New York City. Dick, a poor, uneducated, down-on-his-luck orphan, traverses the social and economic difficulties of the emerging American metropolis. The temptations of gambling, stealing, drinking, and intemperate language (all issues confronted by teenagers today) are placed in the context of the time period. In addition, the novel provides some texture for the political, economic, and social realities of the newly industrial America. Issues such as child labor, immigration, the Protestant work ethic, urbanization, industrialization, and even the accuracy of the “The Gilded Age” as a title for the time period can be explored through the fictional adventures of the novel’s hero.

Set almost one hundred years after the travails of Ragged Dick, The Autobiography of Malcolm X, presents students with another opportunity to explore the transformation of one of the most dynamic figures of the rights revolutions of the mid-twentieth century. The protagonist’s transition from Malcolm Little, to Detroit Red, and from Malcolm X to el-Haijj Malik el-Shabazz allows students to witness the impact of the intersection of race and class in post-World War Two America. The tangible impact of racism, both de jure and de facto, move from the sometime generalized classroom examples to the flesh and bones of Malcolm X.

Both books are extremely readable and lend themselves to division into sections for more reluctant readers. After reading the respective portions of either book, students can create timelines of the beliefs, actions, accomplishments, and challenges faced by both characters during each phase of their life. These timelines can be created on butcher block paper, overhead sheets, or notebook paper. Deeper examination of these historical sources can be achieved by analyzing the degree to which both sources reflect the realities of the past. Dick’s transformation from street urchin to respectability allows students to investigate the concepts of class and social mobility, and can be contrasted with the lives of Andrew Carnegie or John D. Rockefeller. Utilizing statistics on social mobility and job distribution changes, elected conclusions drown from Robert Lynd’s Middletown: A Study in Modern American Culture, Stephan Ternstrom’s Poverty and Progress: Social Mobility in a Nineteenth Century City, or Herbert Gutman’s article “The Reality of the Rags-to-Riches Myth: The Case of the Paterson, New Jersey, Locomotive, Iron and Machinery Manufacturers” students can compare the rise of Ragged Dick to the historical realities of the time period. In contrast, the life of Malcolm X, allows students to draw conclusions about the manner in which he has been depicted by Hollywood, how he should be remembered historically, and the relationship between the Black Power Movement and the efforts of the non-violent element of the Civil Rights Movement as exemplified by Martin Luther King, Jr.

Novels, often ignored because of their length, placement in the English/Language Arts curricula, or teacher unfamiliarity, are outstanding sources for historical investigations. By facilitating not simply reading, but evaluation of the book as an historical source, students are pushed to expand their knowledge of a particular event, person, idea, or time period, and to broaden their utilization of historical thinking skills. Both Ragged Dick and the Autobiography of Malcolm X invite students’ interest and provide the flexibility necessary in order to utilize a source with a variety of students.

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by Jeffrey Rosen
Reviewed by Bruce Lesh

In many instances, student interest in a topic can be captured with the use of an interesting historical anecdote. These small stories provide a window on a topic or help to reinforce an important point in classroom instruction. Consider the story Jeffrey Rosen conveys in his chapter on Hugo Black and William O. Douglas. In the aftermath of the milestone Brown decision, the Alabama state legislature passed a resolution stating that native son, former member of the Ku Klux, Klan, and Supreme Court Justice Hugo Black, could not be buried in Alabama soil. For the next ten years, Black’s visits to Alabama required him to don a bullet proof vest provided by the United States Secret Service. The personal price paid by Black for siding with the dismantling of segregation paints an important picture of the difficulties inherent to making political decisions. This vignette, like many offered in Jeffrey Rosen’s The Supreme Court—a companion book for the Public Broadcasting System’s (PBS) series of the same name—humanizes the court’s members and its decisions. The organization of the text allows readers insight into major turning points in the evolution of both the court as an institution and in its impact on Reconstruction, industrialization, the New Deal, civil rights, and the right to privacy.

The central organizing theme of the book is Rosen’s exploration of “judicial temperament,” which he defines as the “personality, character, upbringing and education, formative career experiences, work habits…”, of the justices. Through the comparison of seven justices, and one President (Thomas Jefferson), Rosen posits the argument that true measure of the court’s efficacy is the manner in which temperament guides the decisions emanating from the institution. Short biographical sketches start each chapter followed by the interactions between two justices who the author identifies as bringing different temperaments to the court. Comparisons of John Marshall and Thomas Jefferson, John Marshall Harlan and Oliver Wendell Holmes, Hugo Black and William O. Douglas, and William Rehnquist and Antonin Scalia serve as the chapters of the book. Central to Rosen’s investigation is the degree to which ideological extremes are avoided and pragmatism is embraced. His descriptions of Chief Justice John Marshall, in comparison to President Thomas Jefferson encapsulate the dichotomy that drives the book’s organization. In Rosen’s estimation, it was Marshall’s “incrementalism, accommodation, practicality, philosophical moderation” that allowed him to be successful unlike Jefferson who, according to Rosen, lacked all the above mentioned skills. Later, Rosen argues that the quest for the spotlight harbored by justices William O. Douglas and Antonin Scalia also reflected a lack of the appropriate temperament. Rosen holds that William Rehnquist, on the other hand, was in possession of the correct judicial temperament because “Rehnquist had a knack for getting along with his ideological opponents,” while “Scalia managed to alienate even his ideological sympathizers.” In many instances, temperament, by Rosen’s analysis, seems to be a substitute for a reverence for the court over personal ideology or ambition. Nevertheless, the stories told in The Supreme Court are fertile ground for teachers of the court and its decisions.

Students could use the chapter organization of the book to prepare reports of the impact of the court on the Early National period, Reconstruction, industrialization, the New Deal, the Civil Rights movement, and the battle over privacy. Reports could focus not only on key decisions, but the interplay of the justices during these key moments in American History. The quick depictions of the backgrounds, personalities, and key decisions of seven Supreme Court justices found in Jeffrey Rosen’s The Supreme Court, will refresh teacher’s knowledge of the court and provide many of the anecdotes that can generate deeper student interest in a topic.

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by Jeffrey Toobin
Reviewed by Philip Nicolosi

The Nine: Inside the Secret World of the Supreme Court takes the reader inside the most enigmatic of our three branches of government. Author Jeffrey Toobin suggests that the Court “by design keeps its operations largely secret from the outside world,” but there are opportunities to peek into the “window of its soul.” High school government and history teachers will certainly find this bestseller useful for both background knowledge and anecdotes, but mostly to teach students about the court’s most critical processes — how justices are nominated, how politics plays a role in a body that’s supposed to be apolitical, and how backgrounds and personalities affect opinions rendered. The Nine is a well-organized and engaging book, and teachers will have little trouble finding useful classroom material for lesson plans.

Toobin puts a human face on a branch of government that still prohibits cameras in the chambers and whose members can still attend a NASCAR event in near anonymity (yes, one of the justices attends the races). Reading about the differences in Warren Burger’s and William Rehnquist’s leadership style, how Bill Clinton settled for his seventh choice in Ruth Bader Ginsburg, or how Clarence Thomas dealt (and still deals) with his confirmation hearing, students will realize there is more to the Supreme Court than just “interpreting the law.”

The Nine will prove versatile in the classroom. For a US Government class, this book is ideal. Not only does it provide a pointed summary of the Supreme Court and its procedures, but it covers topics such as the nominations of Justices, the politics of various issues and the subsequent decisions and rationales of the individual justices. A teacher could assign a particular justice to a small group and have the group read the sections on the justice’s nomination, his or her political leanings, and a key case that defined that particular justice. Alternatively, teachers could assign projects based on notable court cases, with each chapter highlighting an issue or case and a particular justice who was instrumental in the outcome. One group could read and report on how Sandra Day O’Conner – a Goldwater conservative – found herself voting against overturning Roe v. Wade or how Stephen Breyer, in his first few years on the court, wrote a classic dissent defending his interpretation of the commerce clause. Students could then report their findings in an essay or an oral presentation to the class using evidence from The Nine as well as evidence from the actual opinions found on websites such as the OYEZ Project (a comprehensive site on the Supreme Court). Certainly a class analysis of the Bush v. Gore chapters can be used to teach the controversy in the 2000 election, but it can also be used to examine the rift that decision created within the Court.

Although Toobin focuses on the Rehnquist Court, this book has great value for a US History class. Toobin provides a nice overview of major issues taken up by the court, each within the context of the time. He discusses the justices as products of their background, and this helps explain each of their judicial philosophies. Students in a history class can also gain a much fuller understanding of what it means to “interpret the law.” Students could easily be assigned an issue and look at how each justice interpreted that particular issue or why individuals brought the case to court as well as how the interpretation of our rights changes over time. An excellent example for this type of analysis would be the chapter entitled “What Shall be Orthodox,” which deals with both speech and religion, and various interpretations of these two cherished rights.

While Toobin’s research and writing style make the book accessible to advanced students’ reading abilities and comprehension, judicious selections of topics may be necessary. The extensive discussion of the abortion issue and the brief chapter on the Court’s dealing with homosexuality may be beyond what some districts and schools allow. However, the numerous other topics such as the Clinton impeachment, the Court’s view of federalism, and the recent appointments of Samuel Alito and John Roberts will provide substantial material to supplement any desired learning objectives.

Focusing on the longest period without a change in the Court’s nine-justice history, Toobin’s work can be a true asset to any classroom teacher. From his individual justice profiles and the analysis of their decisions to his summary and explanation of the context of issues such as the War on Terror cases and The University of Michigan’s admissions policy, teachers will certainly not find themselves at a loss for lesson plan ideas, anecdotes and information. Coupled with other resources and websites such as the OYEZ Project, the once mysterious world of the Supreme Court becomes less of an enigma and more human.

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by E.B. Sledge
Reviewed by Bruce Lesh

In such a visual age, sacrifices made during war are often reduced to images of limbless soldiers, exploding body parts, or blind charges into enemy lines. Films such as Wind Talkers, Thin Red Line, Pearl Harbor, and Saving Private Ryan–although useful classroom tools for examining memory, image, and interpretation—visually paint what is often told more comprehensively in text. E.B. Sledge’s With the Old Breed: At Peleliu and Okinawa provides a ground-level view of the war in the Pacific and does so in a manner that will make a long-lasting impression on students, generate classroom discussion, and challenge students to reconsider the racial nature of the Pacific War.

Written as a memoir for his family, E.B. Sledge’s gripping tale of his time in the United States Marines was composed from notes written during the war, collected in his copy of the Old Testament, and hidden in a waterproof bag. Organized into two sections, the book is ready-made for classroom use. Part one examines Sledge’s travels from civilian life to the Marine Corps and eventually to the invasion of Pelieu. The second part finds the First Marine Division invading Okinawa. Both sections move the reader quickly through the battles and allow students to gain insight into the motivations of the soldiers. Sledge’s ability to place the reader in the maelstrom of war helps students understand the true emotional, physical, and psychological costs of war.

If time constraints, curricular standards, or students’ reading abilities make lengthy reading difficult, the book is ripe for excerpts that could be organized into categories such as soldiers’ view of the enemy, American battlefield tactics/strategies, conditions particular to the War in the Pacific, and Japanese strategies and methods. These excerpts allow students to develop a picture of the Pacific War from the soldiers’ point-of-view and then use this picture to reconstruct a more expansive history of the war. In addition to its utility as a unique source on the Pacific War, sections of the With the Old Breed could be compared with the documentary treatment of the Pacific War found in the PBS’s The American Experience Installment, Victory in the Pacific, or with Elizabeth Norman’s We Band of Angels: The Untold Story of American Nurses Trapped on Battan by the Japanese. Each source provides both points of comparison and contrast with the image depicted in Sledge’s reminiscence. In addition, by utilizing a local veteran’s organization, teachers could facilitate a visit by a veteran of the Pacific War to compare and contrast their experience to that described by Sledge.

For teachers, the greatest shortcoming of Sledge’s memoir is its failure to place the events depicted into the larger political and military struggle of the time period. Students, even reluctant readers, will be drawn into the mind of the Marines fighting in the Pacific, but will need instructional guidance to place Sledge’s narrative into the broader political, military, and diplomatic contours of the war. In addition, when considering adopting the text as part of a United States history course, teachers should be aware that With the Old Breed contains both graphic language and disturbing depictions of war, and brutality. The book may require consideration of parental concerns, district policies, and the age appropriateness of the material being utilized. Despite concerns over the big picture coverage proved by the book and the necessity for considerations about content, the book provides a well written and thought provoking analysis of the battle for the Pacific and will be remembered by your students when they have long forgotten island-hopping, Iwo Jima, and other aspects of the war.

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by David M. Kennedy
Reviewed by Bruce Lesh

Freedom from Fear: The American People in World War Two, Volume 2 examines the political, military, diplomatic, economic, and social changes related to the United States’ role in the Second World War. Kennedy is not only talented at synthesizing recent scholarship; he is also a gifted writer. A compelling narrative drives the book and makes it an enjoyable read for educators. Teachers new to United States History, or those looking to breathe life into tried and true approaches, would both be well served by reading Kennedy’s book.

Kennedy skillfully weaves the intricacies of diplomacy and the sacrifices on the battlefield without ever losing sight of the depth of the historical actors involved. He is equally adept at providing the telling statistic about economic mobilization while simultaneously focusing on the personal sacrifices demanded by the war. Teachers should note that this is not a full telling of the Second World War—the internal policies of many of America’s allies and enemies are left out—but this was not Kennedy’s intention, and his coverage of the American role is substantial.

The chapters “The War of the Machines” and “The Cauldron of the Home Front” are tremendously useful for teachers looking to restructure their approach to the home front during World War II. Replete with stunning statistics and insightful anecdotes, both chapters provide the deep content that can crystallize for students the enormity of the mobilization of war and its attendant impact on the outcome. Of interesting note, is Kennedy’s treatment of the Manhattan Project in the context of the American War machine’s growth and development. Traditionally this element of mobilization and technological growth is left in the paragraph prior to the dropping of the bomb. By placing the decisions related to the development of an atomic bomb in the context of the other efforts to prepare the United States armed forces, students are able to appreciate the manner in which the bomb was conceived, developed, and delivered for use. Including it in the discussion of American mobilization makes far better sense and is an important consideration when organizing content for a unit on World War Two.

“The Cauldron of the Home Front” addresses the impact that a war to end fascism had on relations between the races in the United States. Deftly moving from the rationale and implications of Executive Order 9066, to the growing resistance to Jim Crow and the nascent Civil Rights movement, and finally to the expansion of opportunities for women that the war fostered, Kennedy crafts a sweeping overview of how a foreign war facilitated changes in traditional domestic mores. The chapter concludes with a sobering analysis of the relationship between American political decision makers and the Holocaust. Kennedy clearly examines the imbedded anti-Semitism within the United States government, the timing of American awareness of the scale of devastation taking place in German occupied Europe, and the multi-faceted reasons for American inaction. This section of the chapter is ripe for use in the classroom. Students could read Kennedy’s interpretation of America and the Holocaust, compare it with the primary source quotes provided at the PBS’s American Experience segment America and the Holocaust website, and begin a deep exploration of this important—but often untaught, portion of American History. In these two chapters alone, Kennedy’s book provides teachers with an opportunity to refresh and/or deepen their knowledge of the Second World War and simultaneously revisit the stories they convey and the organization of their instructional program.

Although dividing the text into two volumes reduces the intimidation factor generated by the 800 page original, the book is still inconsistent with the reading and motivational abilities of most high school students. It is an exceptionally well-written book, and portions would be useful background reading for Advanced Placement students. Other segments could be used to supplement often scarcely told stories found in textbooks, but in its entirety, it will challenge most high school students. For educators though, Kennedy’s single volume on World War Two, and his entire book on the Depression and War, should be required reading. The book provides an opportunity to refine their understanding of this critical time period, provides useful material for classroom use, and promotes consideration over how curriculum could be ordered to best encourage student understanding of this pivotal time period.

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by Douglas Brinkley
Reviewed by Phil Nicolosi

In The Boys of Pointe du Hoc, historian Douglas Brinkley masterfully links the events of June 6, 1944 to Reagan’s famous speeches commemorating the fortieth anniversary of D-Day on June 6, 1984. Brinkley claims that Reagan’s speeches started the renewed interest in the World War II’s “greatest generation,” culminating in numerous books, films, documentaries, and memorials since then. As history teachers, we often find ourselves trying to justify to students why history is important and why we should learn about and remember certain people and events. Brinkley’s book provides us a resource to face those classroom challenges.

Brinkley tells the gripping story of James Earl Rudder’s 2nd Army Ranger Battalion who climbed the jagged cliff at Pointe du Hoc in the face of Nazi fire to help liberate Europe. He then links that moment in time with events four decades later when Reagan delivered what many consider to be his finest speech to the “Boys of Pointe du Hoc” at that very site. What makes this book outstanding for classroom use is the variety of ways teachers can employ it to show students that history matters, that people are products of their time, and that events of years ago still directly affect us today.

The book is essentially written as two stories. For the 2nd Ranger Battalion story, Brinkley uses available primary sources such as accounts of their training and mission, their photos, and their personal letters, placing the reader at the scene in 1944. Students will be drawn to the story; the outcome may be certain, but the drama remains. The second part of the book focuses on events and people who influenced Reagan in his younger days in 1944 and on the construction of his famous speeches in 1984. This story, too, is riveting. From Reagan’s background and his admiration for FDR, to speechwriter Peggy Noonan’s word choices, Brinkley captures almost every emotion that goes into commemorating an event.

A classroom teacher will find this book a genuine asset not only in teaching the content of the 1940’s and 1980’s, but also in helping students to see how a nation “remembers” its history. Brinkley includes the Pointe Du Hoc speech in the Appendix, so students can read the account of the events in the book, compare Brinkley’s work as an historian to the speech itself, and discover how a professional historian or a President retells “memories.” It may also be beneficial for students to select “soundbites” from the speech and justify why their selections proved so memorable. Teachers will find the photos and the full text of letters useful for capturing the emotional component of war from those who experienced both the war and the remembrance. For instance, the daughter of a D-Day veteran who visited France in 1984 wrote one particular letter, which inspired Reagan. She wanted to see what her father, who died a few years earlier, had always talked about. The full text of this letter is included in the book. It is the type of source selection that gives Brinkley’s text such power. Brinkley understands the importance of such a source, but teachers will also see its usefulness because it allows students to see the personal side of history and that common people can do uncommon things.

Just as Trumbull’s painting of the signing of the Declaration of Independence helped capture the eighteenth century’s “greatest generation” approximately forty years after the original event, Brinkley’s work provides us with a highly readable, primary source-filled account of events forty years apart. When Ronald Reagan referred to D-Day in his Farewell Address, he warned that we, as a nation, cannot forget our past. “We won’t know who we are,” he declared, for a loss of an American memory “could result, ultimately, in an erosion of the American spirit.” High school history teachers will find this book useful in making exactly this point to their students.

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